That Gal Greta Van Susteren

It's Friday afternoon and time for a catty moment: Did you see Greta Van Susteren try to bash President Obama while she interviewed former-President Bill Clinton (this post will not examine the wisdom of, or motivation for, Mr. Clinton's appearance on a Fox News program)? Think Progress has the whole story.

Van Susteren inaccurately complained that President Obama was visiting only states he won in the general election. “He’s hit…Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Colorado,” she said. "It looks like a reward." She didn't mention Arizona, Senator McCain's home state - which McCain won - and Mr. Clinton corrected her on that.

Think Progress looked at the election numbers for the specific areas the President recently visited:

Elkhart County, IN: Obama lost 44 to 56 percent
Lee County, FL: Obama lost 45 to 55 percent
Fairfax County, VA: Obama won 60 to 39 percent
Denver County, CO: Obama won 75 to 23 percent
Maricopa County, AZ: Obama lost 44 to 55 percent

I don't see any big "reward" here, Ms. Greta.

Anyway, her complaint is beyond silly; Greta, please - if you are going to be a political assassin ya gotta be sharp, not silly. Voters in states that went for President Obama were signaling that they wanted new policies. The President is reporting back that he is implementing the change that was requested. It's called communication. That's how the system works for elected officials who aren't George Bush.

Greta is from Appleton, Wisconsin, a politically conservative part of my state. As a result, she's probably comfortable being on Fox News. Appleton was also the home of United States Senator Joseph McCarthy who was famous in the 1950s for accusing people, including his colleagues, of being Communists. McCarthy was not able to back-up all those charges. Perhaps Greta should keep in mind, too, the need for real, solid, truthful speech in the media.

And enough with the cosmetic surgery! Greta, you are 54: Seek to have some grace and elegance to match your age.

Meow, meow, meow.

Bill Clinton: Improvement Noted

According to the Huffington Post, President Clinton was on the campaign trail for Sen. Obama, and doing a fine job. This improvement is noted.

Bill Clinton: America's Most Selfish Adult

You may be asking, "How could Bill Clinton be America's most selfish adult?" What about all those financial industry folks whose greed has corrupted politics and made hash of the financial system? What about obsessive leaders of religious cults? Sure, those folks are selfish, too. Here's the difference.

Bill Clinton puts himself into roles in which he is to act for the public good. For example, take his oath as a lawyer. A lawyer's advocacy for a client is tempered by one thing: upholding the integrity of the judicial system, which really means putting first what is in the best interest of the community. Another obvious example is Bill Clinton asking the community to put him into positions of public trust as Governor of Arkansas (yeah, yeah, Arkansas, right -- nonetheless!) and, of course, as President of the United States of America.

What happened in Arkansas can stay in Arkansas. As for the White House, from a policy standpoint, am I glad that a Democrat was President from 1993 - 2000? Yes, of course. From a 'politics as theater' standpoint, was I glad that that Democrat was Bill Clinton? Not always.

Representative government is supposed to be about the people, not the politician. You, my literate and well-read friends, know that Mr. Clinton has on occasion put his personal - very personal - interests ahead of the public interest (don't forget the pardon-mess at the end). Politicians, like all of us, mess-up at times. But this wasn't a state legislator or obscure Florida Congressman chasing underage Congressional pages. Mr. Clinton was the President.

Maybe you've forgiven all of that. Maybe you don't think that the attitudes and behaviors of Bill Clinton while in the White House contributed to making the road tougher for Senator Gore in his presidential run. Maybe. But knowing all of that history, all of those facts, let's look at the present.

What irks today, and why I think Bill Clinton is America's most selfish adult, is that he is not helping the Democratic nominee, Senator Obama, win the White House. Instead, Bill Clinton appears to be helping John McCain.

* He invites John McCain to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative conference, and gives McCain a lavish introduction. As Jonathan Martin points out, that invite probably wouldn't have happened if Hillary Clinton were the nominee.

* Clinton is on the Today show defending McCain's suggestion to postpone the Presidential debate.

* Clinton appears on the David Letterman show, discusses the Presidential election, and does not even mention Senator Obama's name. Comedian Chris Rock appeared on the show after Clinton. In case you haven't seen it, here is Rock's response at the Huffington Post.

* While he appears unable to take opportunies to praise the Democratic nominee for President, Clinton has pleanty of praise for Sarah Palin.

What possible explanation is there for the former leader of the Democratic Party to be such a wimp about campaigning for Senator Obama? The only reason I can think of is that he is completely self-centered.

Some day in the future Hillary Clinton may run again to be the Democratic nominee for President. If she does there is only one way for her to get my vote: divorce Bill Clinton.